i5+2060 or i7+1660 Ti For Gaming Laptop?

I’ll tackle this question in two parts, we’ll first compare the CPU performance, followed by the GPU performance afterwards.

Intel i5-9300H vs i7-9750H

These are the specs of these two processors:

i5-9300H

i7-9750H

Cores/Threads

4/8

6/12

Base Clock

2.4GHz

2.6GHz

Single Core Boost

4.1GHz

4.5GHz

All Core Boost

4.0GHz

4.0GHz

Cache

8MB

12MB

TDP

45W

45W

Memory

DDR4-2666

DDR4-2666

We’re expecting the i7 to have an advantage in multicore applications due to the 50% higher core count, however we’re focusing on games here. Unless the specific game benefits from additional cores, the i7 should still have an edge due to its higher clock speeds and cache.

On average in the above 15 games tested, the i7-9750H is only 2.2% faster than the i5-9300H on average at the highest setting preset. The results vary wildly depending on the game though, esports titles dominate the top of the graph, so if that’s your priority a higher tier CPU could be worthwhile.

You can find the full in depth break down between these two laptop CPUs in my detailed i5-9300H vs i7-9750H comparison. I’ve also compared core heavy CPU workloads there too if you want to get an idea of the performance differences outside of gaming.

Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060

Next let’s see what the difference is between these two graphics options:

GTX 1660 Ti 80W

RTX 2060 80W

CUDA Cores

1,536

1,920

Base Clock

1,140-1,455MHz

960MHz

Boost Clock

1,335-1,590MHz

1,185-1,200MHz

Memory

6GB GDDR6

6GB GDDR6

Memory Speed

12 GBPS

Up to 14 GBPS

Memory Interface

192-Bit

192-Bit

Memory Bandwidth

288 GB/s

336 GB/s

TDP

60-80

80-90

The clock speeds and thereby performance will vary based on the power limit. I’ll be comparing the 1660 Ti and 2060 with the same 80 watt power limit, so as fairly as possible.

There are 17 games tested here, and again we’re comparing maximum setting presets. There’s a much larger 14% improvement to average FPS with the RTX 2060 here.

You can find the full in depth break down between these two laptop GPUs in my detailed 1660 Ti vs 2060 comparison. It’s worth noting that the RTX 2060 has, well, RTX as per the name. Although there are still only a small number of titles that support ray tracing, with DLSS 2.0 some games like Control do benefit from this feature.

Conclusion

We can clearly see that there is a bigger performance gain to be had by selecting the RTX 2060 graphics over the GTX 1660 Ti option. When we look at the difference in processors, the i7-9750H was only 2% faster on average in a similar game selection when compared with the i5-9300H.

If we instead play at minimum, the average difference only increases to 5%. This is because lower settings are typically more CPU than GPU heavy. Regardless, the difference is smaller between the CPUs.

It would have been preferable if I actually had an i5+2060 and i7+1660 Ti laptop to compare with, however I’ve never had hands on time with an i5+2060 machine. This data should be enough to illustrate the point though, in most games the GPU difference is greater than the CPU difference.

It does of course depend on the game, CS:GO for instance only saw a 2% improvement to average FPS with the GPU change, while there was a slightly higher 5% boost between the CPUs. For CPU heavy games like that, waiting for 10th gen may be worthwhile at this point. For most other games though, don’t expect too much gaming improvements from 10th gen.

40 Comments

Paolo D'Angelo

Yes, the I5-2060 laptops are rare, but the main problem is that those pre-configured have cheap panels, drives and extras. Maybe the best case scenario for this configuration is Lenovo Y540 which for a very fair price, can have both I5 and 2060.

Jarrod

Yeah I didn’t really focus on price difference or other aspects here, I assume the people asking the question have already picked out two machines with the CPU/GPU specs so just approached that part of the question.

Jarrod

Mehmet

Hello Jarrod. I bought an Acer Nitro 5 (i7 9750H / 1660 Ti / 16 GB Ram) I think i get lower performance than other laptops with same specs. I got 120 fps on CS:GO and i think this is low. And i got 2084 points in Cinebench R20 without undervolt. Other laptops can take 2500+ but i take 2084. Is this low? And what do you recommend for me? Should i send this laptop to guarantee? Please reply

Jarrod

That is on the lower side for the i7, best case is around 3000 points in Cinebench 20 without power or thermal limits. Are you using turbo mode and also plugged into wall power? If so give undervolting a go. For CS:GO, make sure you manually set it to full screen mode as that will boost performance. If you have a 120Hz screen and vsync enabled, not passing 120 FPS is normal.

My questions are:
1. How can I increase battery life? In general, it gives around 1-2Hrs
2. Does 1660Ti with Max-Q Design have Ray Tracing?
3. Shadow of the Tomb Raider freezes/crashes sometimes. (Pirated Game)
4. Do a game is dependent on the refresh rate to cross 100+ FPS count?
5. How to Undervolt? Because in Intel’s XTU there is no such option available.
6. Can either of the processor or GPU be overclocked?

Jarrod

1. Turn off key lighting, lower screen brightness, close background apps.
2. No, but you can still do it, it will just perform much worse compared to RTX graphics.
3. Try not pirating it I guess lol
4. No, you can get high FPS even with 60Hz, and it will still help reduce input lag.
5. I think latest Dell BIOS locked undervolting due to plundervolt vulnerability.
6. CPU cannot, GPU can with MSI Afterburner.

Jarrod

Gio

Currently I’m currently in search of a new laptop and stumbled upon 2 of them the Acer nitro 5 and Gigabyte aorus 7.I’ve seen both reviews from your channel with you giving more praise to the Acer nitro 5 and with Aorus 7 just being ok.But the 2 laptops are on different price ranges and that’s why they have different ratings for their respective price point.

Kunal Das

Aorus 7 is the one you should consider, given that 1660Ti Max Q is better than 1650 overall, given that you get a 144Hz display as well. Consider upgrading RAM to max, and install more storage as per your requirement.

Jarrod

Shannon

Hello Jarrod! Your videos and posts are always so enjoyable and thorough. All the time and effort that goes into them is truly appreciated. If you have the time I was wondering if I could get your input on something.
I have been on the search for my first gaming laptop and after many hours of searching I have found two options. The Infinity S7 [S7-9G6-88] and the Dell G7 17 i7 1660ti which comes in a bundle with a alienware mouse and headset. I havent been able to find any reviews on this particular model and i’m not sure about which one is the better option. I am able to get the bundle for 1899 Australian Dollars, so the same price as the infinity however it has only 8gb ram with space for upgrading. The other specs seem mostly the same (i think)

Jarrod

Yeah the G series runs hot, I have a video on the G7 on the channel with info there which you could compare with the Infinity results. Realistically with same CPU/GPU performance is probably similar, the one with dual channel memory will win, so yeah definitely worth upgrading to that if you get the one without it.

CK Ooi

Thank you for your YouTube videos and posts on this site, they are very well made and super informative! I am wondering if you can do a review for the Aftershock Vapor 15X with recommended spec (i7-10875H and RTX 2070 SUPER configuration). I am interested in getting one (current laptop having issues) but it seems to be a relatively new upcoming products with no independent reviews as of the writing of this comment, which is why I am still a bit hesitant to purchase it.

Jarrod

Just waiting for them to reach out and offer one, not sure when that will be yet, but if you do need it sooner you can probably still get $50 AUD off if you use code ‘JARRODSTECH’ which might be useful. Looks the same as the Eluktronics MAX-17 I covered previously, just with newer CPU/GPU.

CK Ooi

Hey Jarrod, thank you for the quick reply! Ah alright, hopefully you will get one soon. Yup, I saw the code from your Vapor 15 Pro review video, it’s definitely useful and I plan on using it, thanks for the reminder too!

It’s probably not fair to ask you these before you manage to review it, but based on your previous experience with the Vapor 15 Pro and similar devices from Eluktronics , would you recommend the Vapor 15X? They all seem to use chassis developed by Intel so the thermals should be alright? Just not sure if the newer CPU/GPU would produce way more heat and drains battery quicker when used unplugged for non-gaming tasks.

Thank you again 🙂

Jarrod

They’re all based on chassis from tongfang, Intel just had some sort of involvement with the pro model (not really sure what extent that was), so yeah in terms of design and materials / build quality etc they share a lot of similarities. The higher specs probably drain the battery faster, that’s generally the trend I’ve noticed with many machines I’ve tested.

Jarrod

If you want ray tracing 2060 is the only real option out of the two, ray tracing on GTX is a meme. Never tested i5 + 2060 as mentioned in the video, my best guess is it’s probably fine though. Not sure what ML needs, maybe the extra cores for that might be useful hard to say. The difference in gaming at least between i5 and i7, as shown here, is quite minimal.

Jack

Hello Jarrod,
First, let me start by saying your videos are already a great help.
I’m currently in the market for gaming laptop. I’m not in a hurry, so I’m thinking about waiting for more 4900H models to come, but on the other hand I’m considering the Legion Y540.
Given the theme of this post I was wondering if I should go with GTX1660Ti or RTX2060 with a i7-9750H?
The price difference in my country is pretty low as a RTX2060 model with 1TB SSD is only around 100$ more expensive than GTX1660Ti with 512GB SSD. To me it looks like a no brainer, but maybe I’m missing something?
I have watched your video on this topic posted around October, but a lot can change in half a year, especially with all DLSS and Ray Tracing talking.
Would love to hear your opinion on this, thanks.

Jarrod

fahad

Hi Jarrod,
I’m confused about choosing the right combination
this is between two helios 300 laptops
one has i5 9th gen 9300h + rtx 2060
other one has i7 9th gen + gtx 1660ti , (this is almost 320$ higher than the first one with rtx 2060)
i want to choose the i5 + rtx 2060 but im concerned cause im been reading comments that i5 cpu’s bottleneck and may get into over heating issues
could you help me through this cause i really am intrested in ray tracing tech!!!

Jarrod

I’d go the i5 and 2060, it will perform better in games as mentioned, plus you get the option of RTX like you want, and it’s cheaper, I see almost no reason to go the i7 if you’re only gaming, especially at higher settings where the CPU can matter less.

1st option is less expensive than other 2 but my concern is the thermals on nitro 5 also it’s not undervolted like other 2

2nd option and 3rd option are somewhat near in price but 2060 variant losses out on 17.3 inch display that the 1660ti variant gets also o have seen in Amazon review people writing that the i5 bottlenecks even 1660ti is that true I don’t know please enlighten me. Thanks . And please reply if u read this

Jarrod

Honestly CS:GO will run on a potato, otherwise the better CPU seems to matter more, so probably the i7 on the Nitro, you can always undervolt it yourself without much effort, here’s a guide if you need one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNt9L3BWOFo i5 is fine with 1660 Ti.

Alexander

Hey there! Thank you so much for this post, exactly the comparison I was looking for, I found 2 MSI laptops with the configurations above and at the same price, this really helped me make a decision.
Much love!

most of my works are with Solidworks, Abaqus and Adobe photoshop and i’m not a hardcore gamer but i like to play games like Warthunder or rainbow six siege with decent fps.
I would be very happy to hear your suggestion

Jarrod

I think the i5 and 1660 Ti is a good middle ground, not sure how CPU heavy those software suites are though, but I suspect they should run well enough on the i5 based on what I’ve heard from others, maybe see if you can find any benchmarks. Games like that should play ok on the 1650 though, so if you want to prioritize your work the i7 with more cores would probably be better years from now when quad cores start choking.